Struggles
by MBrabs1996
Summary: After the whole Loki fiasco, Director Fury decides that the whole group needs to spend time in therapy, including Agent Hill. And no one is excited for it, but there are still struggles ahead for everyone, including Maria and Natasha. Slight Tony/Pepper. Steve/Maria. Clintasha. Bruce/Possible OC. Please R&R. Rated T for language and some adult/mature themes, but not a lot.
1. Decisions

**A/N: Hey guys! So this takes place a week after my story, "Falling Back" so Jason, Tony and Pepper's son, is a week old! Enjoy!**

The group sat in the conference room of SHIELD HQ, Fury standing in front of them, his arms folded behind his back, while Agent Hill stood silently off to the side.

"Now, I called you all here because it's come to my attention that no one here has gotten a decent nights sleep since Loki tried taking over Earth...again..." He started, looking at Maria, then changed his gaze to the small group of six that sat in front of him.

"Well, I for one just haven't been sleeping because I have a new born at home, if you don't remember." Tony answered, putting his feet up on the table, hands behind his head, leaning back in his chair.

Fury sighed.

"Stark, Ms. Potts has told me, face to face, that you weren't sleeping well prior to your son's birth."

"She's betrayed me!"

Natasha rolled her eyes at the billionaire.

"And what's your point, Director?" She asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"My point is, Agent Romanoff, that until all of you can get a decent nights sleep, regardless of the traumatizing events, all of you will be attending group therapy." Fury explained, clearing his throat as he did so.

As if on cue, everyone started to protest.

"But Fury_"

-"Waste of time"

-"And money"

-"We aren't even depressed!"

-"Or traumatized"

-"Mentally unstable my ass!"

Fury sighed, taking his gun out of his holster and firing three rounds up towards the ceiling, causing everyone to either duck or look around nervously.

"Enough! All of you need help, you will report to therapy for the next month, each and every day, excluding weekends. You too, Agent Hill."

Maria gawked at him, shocked he would even suggest such a thing.

"But sir_" She started, only for the older man to cut her off.

"I think, Agent Hill, that after all you've been through, you need it."

Maria nodded, exchanging a brief glance at Steve, before averting her gaze as Nick dismissed them.

"Yes sir"

This was going to be absolute hell.

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review :)**


	2. Arguments

**A/N: Hey guys, so here's chapter two, hope y'all like it! Enjoy! Also, baby Jason's nick name is 'Jace' incase y'all wondered who the Jace they're referring to, is!**

Everyone arrived back at the tower to see Pepper passed out on the 'L' shaped couch with Lili, the child's fleece Spongebob blanket wrapped tightly around them, next to them in a bassinet, was one week old Jason, sound asleep. Rather than wake them up, the group crept quietly over to the bar...until Thor broke a glass as Jane came in, waking Lili, who in turn, woke up a sleeping Pepper.

"Tony? Is that you?" She mumbled, poking her head up over the couch, finally deciding to get up and joining them, knowing it was only a matter of time before Jace woke up.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Lili squealed, running to the two assassins, unconsciously waking up the sleeping baby.

Pepper sighed and turned around in her chair, moving to get up only for Tony to stop her.

"Don't. Enjoy a drink, i'll handle Jace." Tony said, handing her a martini as he turned to get the crying infant.

"The babe is keeping you up, is he not?" Thor asked, grabbing a seat next to Jane as Tony returned with a now calm baby.

_Of course he stops crying as soon as Tony picks him up, but when I do it, I can't calm him down for over ten minutes..._She thought, before turning back to the Demi-God.

"Yeah. I was actually able to sneak a few hours of sleep until all of you got home...so, what happened today?" She asked, taking a small sip of her martini.

"Fury thinks we're mentally insane and ordered us into therapy." Tony answered.

Pepper laughed, looking at Jane who looked at everyone else, amused, but trying to contain her laughter.

"So, he's noticed it too? About time!" Jane joked, giving Pepper a high five before getting up and heading back to the lab once she noticed the dirty looks Tony sent her way.

Steve sighed, pulling Maria into the seat beside him while Natasha sat at the end of the bar with Clint, Lili sitting on her lap.

"He doesn't think we're insane. He just wants us to be alert at all times in the day, especially on missions, and we can't do that unless we're actually sleeping."

"Capsicle! The only people that can qualify as mentally unstable are Spidey and Agent Chill over there!" The billionaire snapped, nodding his head at Maria and Natasha.

"Mama and Auntie Maria aren't crazy!" Lili said as Clint took her into his own lap.

Both women stood up, hands on their weapons as they sent glares in Tony's direction, fully prepared to do something until they remembered Lili and Jace were in the room.

"Лучше спать с одним открытым глазом." Natasha muttered in Russian as she took Lili and angrily walked out of the room.

Maria sighed and followed, pointing an index finger at her self, and pointing her gun at Tony as she said,

"Thin. Ice."

Maria left briskly, making everyone cringe...Clint and Steve too nervous and afraid to follow the angry women.

"Anyway...Cap is right..Fury wouldn't put us in therapy if it wasn't for our own good, we're insane, don't get me wrong...but in a good way." Bruce said, when he got no response, he quickly changed the subject, "So, Pepper, who's going to watch Jason and Lili when you go back to work?"

"John"

"John? As in Maria's Dad, John?"

"Yes, that's correct. Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" She asked, taking the infant in her arms.

"No, actually that will not be all. Are you out of your freaking mind!? He abused Agent Chill, and I can barely trust her to be alone with him! Do you really want to leave our son with him!?" He asked, raising his voice, which caused the infant to squirm in her arms as Steve shot him a glare.

Pepper sighed and handed the baby to Steve.

"Take Jace and go find Maria and Natasha." She ordered, making Steve and Clint get up, nearly running to the elevator, definitely not wanting to witness the fight that would most likely break out.

"Well, look at the time! Thor and I have to go...polish his hammer!" Bruce said quickly, grabbing Thor before he could protest, following after the archer and soldier.

Pepper stood up, walking closer to him threateningly.

"You know, this group therapy will be good for you."

Tony rolled his eyes.

"Yeah. Sue me for wanting to protect our son from a child abuser who was in rehab for almost a decade."

Pepper sighed and put her hands on her hips, something she often did when she started to get annoyed.

"Look, you obviously don't know him well enough! He took Lili, Jason, and I out to lunch with him and Ryder, you know? His GRANDSON, whom he takes care of when Danny and Maria's sister-in-law are at work. I saw the regret in his eyes when we talked about Maria and Danny, what they were like as children. He obviously feels guilty about what he's done, Tony. Ryder looks fine, no unexplained weight loss or bruises. Give him a chance. For me." Pepper explained.

Tony looked at his fiancée, seeing the pleading look in her eyes.

He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Alright, fine! But the minute I suspect him of neglecting or abusing Jace and Lili, and I can't believe Spidey and Legolas even agreed to this_" He started, only for Pepper to cut him off.

"I had this same conversation with Clint and Tasha yesterday night after you had taken Jace to bed. They're going to give him a chance, and I promised them that as soon as something was...off...then John won't be allowed near them, is that what you were going to say?" Pepper asked, brushing a strand of blonde hair out of her face.

"Actually, I was going to say that I was going to kill him..." Tony trailed off as Pepper threw her hands up in frustration as she turned around and left in a huff, shouting out,

"We aren't going to go there, Anthony!"

_Good job, Stark. Made three women pissed at you in less than twenty minutes..._

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review :)**


	3. One on One-Part 1

**A/N: Hey guys! So, here's the next chapter, enjoy! I don't own any of the characters except Lili, Jason, and the therapist! **

The group sat on the black leather couch the next morning in the "Quiet Room" of SHIELD's helicarrier in awkward silence, waiting for the so called therapist to show up.

"So, how long is this again? I've got places to be and people to see." Tony said, his cheek resting on the palm of his hand as if he were sitting through a boring meeting.

"Oh, Pepper's parents are in town?" Maria asked, smirking at him as she flipped through her book.

"Are you kidding me? Pepper would tell me if they were coming. They hate me anyway." He explained, shrugging his shoulders.

"Well gee, we wonder why." Natasha said sarcastically, rolling her eyes as a woman in her early thirties came in, her jet black, shoulder length hair tied into a tight pony tail, her black eyes looking at them nervously, half expecting to be jumped by the heroes.

"Hello, you must be the Avengers, right?" She asked, looking at everyone, eventually looking Bruce in the eyes as she adjusted her black jean jacket, before turning back to the others.

"Can't you just give us happy pills and send us on our way?" Clint asked as she took one of the leather chairs across from them.

Tony clapped Clint on the back.

"Forget the happy pills. Maybe some medicinal marijuana?"

The therapist chuckled, much to everyone else's surprise as she took out a note pad.

"I'm sorry, but I would lose my certification and the degree that I worked very hard to earn!"

Natasha leaned over to Maria, nudging her gently with her elbow.

"You need a certificate to be someone's shoulder to cry on?" She muttered, causing Maria to scoff, covering her mouth to refrain her laughter as Clint chuckled.

The therapist sighed, but pretended not to notice the comment as she began to speak.

"Right. So, i'm Brooklyn Miller, but you can call me Brook, and I think I want to have a one on one session with each of you today, just so I could get an idea of what you're like when you aren't saving the world, how does that sound?"

_**Bruce**_

Inevitably, it was Bruce that was picked to go first...or forced to put it more accurately.

"So, Dr. Banner, tell me a little about yourself." Brook said, a hint of a southern accent in her voice that he hadn't noticed before.

"Well, I specialize in Gamma radiation, which ultimately made me who I am when I get angry. There's not much to tell."

"I know you turn into another...being...when you're angry, but what exactly do you mean?" She asked, smoothing out her black dress as she questioned him.

"I'm a ticking time bomb. If someone says or does something that makes me mad, I go into a rage, which you already know. I nearly destroyed Harlem the last time I was in New York, then I nearly destroyed this place. I'm un predictable, I can't really trust my self around this place or other people." He explained, sighing as he hunched over, looking at the ground.

"I wouldn't say you're un predictable. Just have some breath taking anger management issues. But, I can probably change that while all of you are here...if i'm not dead yet." She said, half joking half serious, "what of your family?" She added.

"Nothing much there either. My father, Brian, was mentally unstable and abusive much like Agent Hill's father, he thought i'd become a genetic freak, he wasn't far off there. My mother, Rebecca, loved me dearly and tried to protect me from him, but he would also be abusive to her as well. After she tried to leave with me, he murdered her right in front of me, once he was arrested, my Aunt raised me."

Brook gave him a reassuring smile, "you aren't a genetic freak, just different...besides, being normal is over rated anyway. How did you become the Hulk?"

"The Gamma bomb I designed detonated while I was trying to get a teenager who went into the base on a dare, out of there."

Brook nodded and briefly put down her note pad.

"I'm getting a sense you have a lot of pent up anger from your family life, and some trust problems, am I right?" She asked, getting up and putting a comforting hand on his shoulder, causing him to tense up.

Bruce nodded, breathing heavily from the memories.

"Alright, send in Agent Romanoff."

_**Natasha**_

The assassin sat on the leather couch while the older woman was once again back in the chair directly across from her. Natasha sat cross legged, arms folded across her chest as she gazed at Brook with a stony expression, making her un comfortable, but she could obviously tell Natasha would be a tough patient to crack.

"So, Natasha, tell me about your self."

Natasha's expression remained stoic.

"There's nothing to tell." She said coldly, her green eyes glaring at Brook, who fidgeted in her seat.

"Alright then, we'll start easy. How old are you? Any family?"

Natasha sighed and leaned back on the couch.

_This woman is never going to leave me alone if I don't tell her something. _

"I'm twenty-eight"

Brook looked taken aback.

"Really? You don't look that age at all."

Natasha scoffed.

"Yeah, neither does Cap but he's twenty-seven." She retorted, who was this woman to pry into her personal life?

"What about family?"

"My parent's died in a fire when I was eight. I have Clint and Lilith, and the rest of the team, they're all the family I need."

"Is Lilith your daughter? And what of Agent Barton?" She asked, scribbling furiously as not to miss a word of it.

"Clint is actually my fiancé. Lili is our daughter yes, we adopted her about six months ago."

Brook saw the tentative smile that crossed the redheads hard features when she mentioned the child or Clint.

"You love them very much, yes? Even the rest of your team no matter how much they get under your skin?"

Natasha hesitated when she heard the word 'love' used so loosely, before sighing.

"Yes. I love the others like the brothers and sisters I never had, and I would die before I let anyone hurt Clint or Lili...tell Tony and the others that, I might have to kill you." She said, deadly serious.

"Nothing leaves this room. I have a Doctor-Patient confidentiality, if you will...you even consider Mr. Stark family?"

The woman looked at her questioningly.

"Uhm...sometimes I wonder? I'm still pissed that he hacked into SHIELD's database and read my file."

Brook looked at her with interest in her black eyes.

"What's in the file you didn't want him to see?"

Natasha's head snapped up, once again on guard, and if looks could kill, the therapist would be dead a thousand times over.

"That's none of your business." She said matter-of-factly and got up, briskly leaving the room, closing the door with a slam.

Brook sighed.

_What did I get my self into?_

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review, they make me super duper happy :) Just a warning, there will be several parts where they talk with the therapist one on one before I get to the whole group parts. Shouldn't be longer than 2 or 3 parts though :)**


	4. One on One-Part 2

**A/N: Wow...I must have no life if i'm updating in a span of less than a day! Lol, so yes, for anyone that is confused who 'lili' is that hasn't read my previous story, _Falling Back, _Lili is adopted :) but that doesn't mean that I won't have a clintasha pregnancy fic :3 there's not nearly enough of those.**

_**Tony**_

"So, Tony, tell me about yourself?" She more asked than stated, crossing her legs as she took a sip of her coffee, courtesy of Coulson.

"I'm a billionaire."

Brook sighed and inwardly face palmed.

"I know...you said that thirteen times." She said, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"Tired? You'll be a lot more than that when you get through with Spidey and Katniss."

"Yes, i've talked with Agent Romanoff. Didn't get very far with her."

"Of course not. She's a master assassin trained in espionage."

"Any how, enough about your counter parts, what about you?" She asked, jotting down some quick notes on her note pad.

"I'm an only child, I have a son named Jason that we've actually nicknamed Jace. After Afghanistan, I thought i'd never have kids or any of the stuff that everyone dreams about."

"What happened in Afghanistan?"

"I almost died...woke up in a shit load of pain after one of my colleagues paid them to kill me."

Brook nodded, briefly looking at the glowing object that showed underneath his black t-shirt.

"Is that something that happened in Afghanistan?" She asked, nodding at the Arc Reactor.

"Yeah, I have shrapnel that threatens to make it's way into my heart. This acts like a magnet to keep it from getting there."

"I see, and your fiancée? Pepper?"

"She's amazing...just a tad bit angry at me."

"Why?"

"When she goes back to work, she wants to leave our son with Maria's Dad! I'm not leaving Jace with him, over my dead body!"

_Seems like trust is an ongoing theme here._ She thought, dismissing him with a nod of her head.

_**Maria**_

The Agent eyed Brook wearily, not uncomfortable, just not sure if she wanted to talk about her personal life.

"So, Tony and Dr. Banner both mentioned you and your father, tell me about that."

Maria glared at her.

"I'd rather not."

"Miss Hill, nothing leaves this room, I won't even tell Director Fury. Understand?" She asked, leaning closer to the younger woman.

"Yes, there's just nothing to tell."

"We can stay here all day, but I need to get to know you so I know what we need to work on."

It was fifteen minutes of awkward silence later that Maria finally gave in and talked, she would have to get some tips from Natasha later on how to remain strong.

"Alright, fine. He abused me, it's over and done with." She said, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly.

Brook closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose.

_This group is going to be the death of me..._

"What kind of abuse? Physical, emotional, sexual_"

Maria cut the other woman off, too quickly for Brook's liking.

"I'd rather not say anything else except that it was emotional and physical. I was beat to an inch of my life" She said coldly, her gray eyes glaring at Brook, who seemed un phased by it, Brook knew that she was dealing with it in her own way, and that was by shutting people out. She also sensed the young Agent was about to cry, but she continued to question her, much to Maria's disliking.

"Did no one know of the abuse?"

Maria hesitated, tapping her foot anxiously, a nervous habit she picked up from Lili...yes, a four-year-old.

"My brother knew, he was actually the only one that stood up for me, he took several beatings from our Dad trying to protect me...I told no one because I was afraid that my brother and I would get separated."

_This is by far the easiest person to talk to... _Brook thought as she furiously scribbled down notes.

"Do you think you'll have kids, despite what your father did to you?"

Maria shook her head.

"Probably not, I love kids, but I just can't trust my self around them."

"How's your relationship with your father now?"

Maria sighed, brushing a strand of her dark hair out of her face, not believing for a minute that this woman cares.

"It's getting there...I can't really...trust anyone a hundred percent again, but i'm working on it thanks to Steve." She said, her voice cracking as the memories invaded her mind of the years of abuse.

Yep. She was about to cry.

"That's good to hear. You look like you two love each other, yes?"

"Yeah. I don't understand why he loves me though. I'm psychologically fucked up, and Stark's right, i'm a cold, heartless bitch. Go figure." She said coldly, crossing her arms.

"You aren't cold or heartless. You said it yourself, you love him and he loves you."

"I guess...Stark just pisses me off to the point that he's lucky Pepper loves him, because I would make sure that shrapnel enters his heart, slowly and painfully, one by one."

"Uhm...maybe you might want to keep a journal, so it doesn't come down to that?" Brook said, looking not in the least bit comfortable.

Maria glared at her.

"No"

Brook inwardly groaned.

"Agent Hill, do you ever hurt yourself? Or have thoughts of doing something drastic?"

That was the last straw.

Maria got up, hastily walking to the door, turning to the therapist one last time before leaving the room.

_I think the bag of marijuana or some happy pills sound really good right now._

**A/N: Let me know what you think! Please review :)**


	5. One on One-Part 3

**A/N: Here's the next chapter! Enjoy my lovelies :)**

_**Clint**_

"So, Clint, Natasha tells me you two adopted a little girl? Tell me about her."

"Yeah, you probably know her name is Lilith, but we call her Lili, She's four and loves everybody, just the other day she was in the park playing with a group of teenagers. She looks up to Nat and I the most though, and wants to be just like us when she's older...not sure how I feel about that. I'm not happy about Stark teaching her how to hack though, I may have to put an arrow through his eye socket for that one. She has really light blonde hair and light blue eyes, people often think she belongs to Pepper." Clint explained, relaxing considerably as he talked about the child..

Brook nodded.

"How long have you been seeing each other?" She asked, looking into Clint's blue eyes.

"Since last year, around the time of Loki's last invasion. We're engaged now, and she's pretty...nice...when she's not trying to kill you, that is."

Brook nodded again, seeing the smile in Clint's eyes as he talked about Natasha and Lili.

"How did you two meet?"

Clint hesitated.

"Uhm...a strip club?" He lied, making it sound more like a question, causing the therapist to give him a, _are you kidding me? How stupid do you think I am? _Look

"So, how did you really meet?"

Clint sighed.

"I was assigned to kill her, but I spared her life instead. Best decision of my life."

"Why were you assigned to kill her?"

Clint immediately tensed up at the question, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples before once again, looking at Brook with an icy glare.

"That's classified."

Brook smiled in understanding, turning her attention back to her note pad.

"Alright, so besides Lili, Natasha, and the rest of the team, what other family do you have?"

Clint sighed, knowing full well this was coming, and he folded his hands in front of him.

"None. My parents are dead."

"How did they die? Natural causes? Some type of illness?" She asked, staring at him questioningly.

_Seems like i'm also dealing with a group that has Mommy and Daddy problems..._ She thought with a sigh, family problems were much harder to fix than anything else.

"A car accident. I was then moved to an orphanage for six years."

"Any siblings?"

"My brother is dead to me." He said coldly, no emotion could be seen in his features at this point.

"Why is that?" She asked softly, folding her hands in her lap.

"Well, if your older brother, the person that was supposed to watch over you, left you for dead on the side of a road, wouldn't you want to kill him too!?" He snapped, causing Brook to jump.

"I see your point...anyway, back to the New York invasion, what happened?"

"Loki made me kill innocent people to sum things up for you."

"And how do you feel about that?"

"How the hell do you think I feel? I almost killed Tasha, i'd feel much better if they let me be alone with him for ten minutes so I could put an arrow through his eye socket."

Brook sighed, clearly the group was emotionally disturbed in some way.

"Send in Steve."

_**Steve**_

"Alright Steve, tell me about yourself." She ordered with a sigh, trying to keep what little patience she had left.

"Well, I was born on July 4th, 1917, ironic huh? My parents were actually poor Irish immigrants. I had two older brothers and a younger sister. I was very frail, until I became who I am that is, I never really went out much because of that. My friend, Bucky and I, would just stay inside, whenever we did go out, he'd get into fights with people who bullied me." He explained, looking around the room nervously.

"What made you want to fight in the war?"

"Protecting my country mostly, Bucky went to join and he wanted me to join too, so I could feel important as he put it. When I tried to enlist several times, I think five or six, I was sent away due to my health and small stature. I was found by Dr. Erskine, and I basically became a test subject. Then the whole becoming, as Stark put it, a _Capsicle, _happened, and that's kinda hard to explain."

Brook nodded and looked up.

"You're doing great, probably better than the others. How do you feel?"

"Pretty confused still, but i'm working on it with everyone's help."

"Why are you confused?"

"Well ma'am, let's think about that. I went to "sleep" in 1944 during the height of the war, then woke up seventy years later, how would you feel?" He asked politely, his blue eyes boring into her pitch black ones.

"Alright, fair enough. Send in Thor, i'd like to hear what he has to say."

_**Thor**_

"No hammer, I hadn't noticed before." Brook joked, raising an eye brow at the Demi-God.

"Aye, lady Pepper and thy lady Jane would not allow me to bring Mjolnir." He said, his tone laced with sadness.

_And I wonder why..._

"Is Mjolnir your hammer?" She asked, taking a sip of her coffee laced with tequila.

Thor nodded.

"Aye. I cannot stand to be away from him."

_Has an unhealthy attachment to his hammer..._

"I see" She said, rubbing her temples as her head throbbed from nearly two hours of talking with the group.

"Are you not well, lady Brook?"

Brook shook her head, brushing her black hair out of her face.

"Why do you say that?"

"Your brown drink smells like it's laced with mead. Maybe it would be a good idea after all to have those pills of happy that friend Clint talks about."

Brook groaned and put her head in her hands, the throbbing becoming more intense by the minute.

_I think i'm done for the day...lord help me now..._

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review :)**


	6. Trust

**A/N: Hey guys! Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

The next day, the group sat once again in the "Quiet Room" why there was even a quiet room no one knew, Brook looked perkier than the day before.

"Alright, so I noticed an ongoing theme with everyone and that is trust." Brook said.

"Uhm, with all due respect ma'am, we're a bunch of heroes with a lot of enemies. We aren't supposed to trust so easily." Steve said, running a hand through his blonde hair.

"I know, but you have problems trusting yourselves as well as each other. Who is the route of your problems?" She asked, looking at each one of them.

As if on cue, everyone pointed to the person to the far right, which just so happened to be Tony.

"Hey, I resent that!"

"Really? You eavesdrop on us!" Maria exclaimed, glaring at him with gray eyes.

-"You taught Lili to hack."

-"And constantly try and make me hulk out."

-"Shot me in the butt with one of my tranquilizer arrows."

-"And gave me food poisoning."

-"Oh, and walked in on me and Maria." Steve added, finishing up the list of things the man had done to them.

Tony put his hands up in surrender.

"Alright! I need to knock first, I get it!" He snapped.

Brook sighed.

"Alright, who has the most trust problems with Tony?" She asked.

This time, everyone pointed at Natasha.

"Okay, Natasha, Tony, front and center." She ordered, gesturing for them to get up and face her.

Natasha and Tony stood up, facing the therapist.

"Now what?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"Now, we're gonna do a trust exercise, Natasha turn with your back facing Tony. Tony, hold your arms out and Natasha will fall back, and you will catch her."

"No, I am not letting Stark touch me!"

"Uhm...yeah, no...that's a bad, fatal call! I want to see my son grow up!"

Brook sighed once more.

"Just. Do. It." She ordered through clenched teeth, making Bruce chuckle.

_Her temper is just as bad as mine.._

Natasha sighed and turned with her back facing Tony, who held his arms out, allowing for her to lean back, falling into his arms and breathed a sigh of relief, half expecting to hit the floor.

"See? That wasn't so bad was it?"

Natasha coughed, not in the least bit comfortable.

"Yes it was. Stark?" She asked, looking...or glaring up at him, trying her best not to knock him out.

"Yeah?"

Natasha looked down to where his hands rested barely touching her breasts.

" .Boobs." She said, causing the billionaire to remove his hands, making her fall onto the hard wood floor.

Brook put her head in her hands as Natasha pulled her self up to a standing position once more.

_Alright, plan B..._She thought, reaching into her blue and white striped sling bag and pulled out two giant red punching bag gloves.

"Natasha, do you get so mad at Tony that you just want to hit him?" Brook asked, handing them the gloves as the assassin nodded, smirking, wasting no time in putting the glove on.

"Oh please, Nat's mean, but she wouldn't hit me with witnesses around."

"Want a bet?" Brook asked, smirking as Natasha hit him in the back of the head with her gloved hand.

"Ha! Girl power!" Maria exclaimed, giving Clint and the others a high five.

"Oh, it's on Red." The man said, putting on his glove and moving to hit Natasha, who ducked and kicked his feet out from under him.

"Seems like lady Natasha is having fun." Thor said as the group watched Tony get the crap beat out of him each time he tried to get up, only getting a few measly hits to land on the woman.

_Well, this is a start..._

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review :) also, let me know anything you'd like to see in this story, i'll take all ideas into consideration!**


	7. Fears

**A/N: At any point in this story, y'all have any ideas, tell me and I might just use them! I know in the next chapter i'm using JoMiSm's idea! What is that you ask? You'll have to wait and see! **

Ten minutes later after everyone and Brook had managed to pull Natasha off Tony, who had several bruises on his face...who knew a foam boxing glove could leave bruises? Everyone was back on the leather couch.

"Alright, that went...well." Brook said with a sigh.

"So, Maria, you're problem was that you feel you can't trust yourself around kids, correct?"

"And my father, yes that's correct."

"What's the reason? Fear?"

Maria sighed.

"I fear that I wouldn't make a good mother, especially after what my father has done to me."

"And what exactly did your father do?"

"He would drag me by my hair across the floor, which would leave bruises all up my back, he'd break my bones and beat me into unconsciousness. He'd call me worthless and a slut, tell me to go kill my self, leave me with his friends who would grope me and try and talk me into doing things with them, just...horrible things, some I haven't forgiven him for." She explained, her gray eyes shined with unshed tears.

"Did you ever...?" Brook trailed off.

"Attempt suicide?"

Brook nodded.

"Five times I tried. I tried to over dose on pills, slit my wrists, I tried everything. Want to know what my father said once I would get out of the psychiatric hospital? He would say, _you should try harder next time. _The only people that were there for me were my brother, Danny and Anna, who is now my sister-in-law. Father of the year, right?" She ranted, scoffing as Tony handed her a silver flask filled with vodka that everyone had been sharing over the past couple of days, that she gratefully took as Steve wrapped a comforting arm around her.

"Anything else?"

"Oh yeah, four and a half months ago he just came back into my life, he says he wants to fix things, but after what he did, I can't trust him or anyone a hundred percent. Each day, I worry if he'll go back to his old ways, take me away and beat the shit out of me, or take out his anger on Ryder!" She exclaimed, slurring her words as she continued to drink from the flask.

"Who's Ryder?"

"My God son, he's four and a half months old. My father takes care of him while Danny and Anna are at work. Pepper, she's stupid for trusting him with Jace when she goes back to work, and Nat, Clint? Y'all might as well take Lili with you when you come in." She ranted.

Steve cleared his throat.

"Steve, do you have something to add?"

Steve nodded.

"Mar, look around you! You have friends, people that love and care for you, even Director Fury. I love you, and i'm always there for you. I won't let anything happen to you, darlin' do you understand?" Steve asked, grabbing her hand with his, making her look into his blue eyes, giving a small smile.

Before she could respond, sniffling could be heard from the far end of the couch.

Everyone turned to look at Tony.

"Tony, are you crying?" Bruce asked, causing Maria to pass the flask of vodka back to Tony.

"Thank you, chill." He said, drinking what was left of it.

"Trust me, you need it more than I do. Just don't let Pepper know you even have it." She said, smirking as the billionaire glared at her.

"Anyway, does what Steve said make you feel better, Maria?" Brook asked.

Maria shrugged.

"A little. Oh, and I love you too, Steve." She said, looking back at him as Natasha started to speak.

"Look Maria, you're great with Lili, she adores you, of course she adores everyone, but whenever we ask who she wants to sit next to when we go out to dinner, what does she say? That's right, she says, 'Aunt Maria' half the time. I also see how good you are with Ryder, and Jace! Last night, when Pepper called you up on your cell phone at midnight because none of us, not even Stark, could get Jason to sleep, you were immediately up there, and you sang to him, and he immediately calmed down! And last month when Danny called you up at three in the morning because Ryder was sick, who drove over, in her pajamas, and told Fury you couldn't come in, and stayed the whole day to help take care of him?" She asked, turning to the other woman.

"She's right, Maria. You've got a natural talent and bond with children that not everyone has." Clint agreed, while Bruce and Steve gave a slight nod of their heads.

"Aye, you have no reason to be afraid, lady Maria, for you did not suffer a miscarriage such as lady Natasha and friend Clint." Thor said, causing everyone to glare at him at the mention of the miscarriage.

The assassin, however, just looked at him for a minute with hurt in her green eyes, but as soon as it appeared, it was replaced with a cold glare.

Things were about to get serious.

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review :)**


	8. Breaking Point

**A/N: So, I would like to thank JoMiSm for the idea for this chapter! Enjoy!**

If looks could kill, Thor would be dead a thousand times over.

"What's Thor talking about?" Brook asked, raising an eye brow at the assassin.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." She choked, quickly wiping away the tears that threatened to fall.

"Tasha. Tell her." Clint said gently, putting an arm around his fiancée reassuringly.

Natasha sighed.

"About seven months ago, before adopting Lili, I had a miscarriage." She stated, looking around the room, attempting desperately to avoid eye contact.

"Did you know you were pregnant?"

"No, had I known I was pregnant, I would not have gone out to fight. I had very mild cramping and bleeding, and thought it was my period at first. That's all."

Brook nodded, jotting something down in her note pad.

"Do you and Clint have intentions to try again."

Natasha sighed once more and Clint gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Probably not. The miscarriage was probably our only chance to have even gotten pregnant without help."

"And why is that?" Brook asked, her black eyes boring into Natasha's green ones.

"That's none of your business." She said coldly, glaring at the thirty-year-old.

Tony sighed.

_She's going to kill me for this..._He thought, and cleared his throat, cutting off the start of Brook's sentence.

"She's supposed to have fertility issues because of the Red Room." He blurted out, giving Natasha an apologetic look as she glared at him.

"What's the Red Room?"

"None of your business." She said again.

Brook sighed.

"Natasha, I know how you feel. I was once in therapy my self, why? Because my ex boyfriend was physically abusive and tried to strangle me and left me for dead in the middle of the woods, in winter. You feel like you're all alone, as if no one understands the pain you've gone through. You feel as if people will judge you for what happened to you, or what you did. As the physical scars are fading, the emotional ones will last forever. Ever think someone's been in the same situation as you?" She asked, exchanging a quick glance at Maria who glared as if saying, _don't bring my abuse into this. What happened to me is not bad compared to what happened to Nat. _

_She's spot on about the emotions part, but wrong about everything else. _Natasha thought.

She finally cracked.

"No one has been through the torture that i've been through! Even Maria's years of abuse doesn't compare to mine! Not even yours does! Did your parents die in a fire when you were just a little girl? Did you get abducted from the scene of the fire by a psycho and brainwashed into believing no one cared about you? No, no one fucking cares about all the psychological, physical, and sexual abuse that I had to endure for half of my life! While everyone else was learning how to ride a bike, going to prom or any other school dance, getting their first boyfriend, I was being injected with a serum and trained to kill! I was raped three times a week for almost two decades and forced to kill innocent people, want to know the youngest person I killed? Yeah, a little boy around Lili's age! Four fucking years old! What kind of monster does that? Me! By the age of ten, I healed faster than most kids all because some sexually frustrated psycho wanted an army of female killing machines to also use as sex slaves to fulfill his sick and twisted needs whenever he wanted! NO ONE, has been through what I have!" She yelled, panting heavily as tears spilled down her pale cheeks, her green eyes looking at everyone furiously until she realized what information she had just shared.

Brook's black eyes widened in shock, but quickly contained her self.

"Natasha, did you ever..." Brook trailed off as Natasha shot her another glare, returning once again to her cold demeanor.

"Excuse me." She said, before getting up and quickly leaving, slamming the door behind her.

Clint got up to follow her, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't. I'll talk to her. What Nat needs is someone who knows how she feels."

Maria.

The archer nodded and watched as the other Agent got up and followed after the assassin, knowing exactly where she was going.

Tony coughed awkwardly.

"Well, hasn't all this been fun?"

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review :)**


	9. Friends: Always there to help

**A/N: So, here's the 8th chapter! Sorry if Natasha and Maria seem a little out of character! Enjoy!**

Maria walked...no crawled through the air vents of the helicarrier, knowing full well that's where Natasha would be.

_I'd expect this from Barton, but Romanoff? Are you kidding me?_ She thought, as she approached Natasha who sat with her back against the cold metal wall cross legged.

"Are you getting a weird sense of deja vu or is it just me?" She asked.

Natasha chuckled darkly and looked at the brunette, her red rimmed eyes looking at her wearily.

"Do you know what it's like to be turned into a monster, and have to live with the guilt your whole life?" Natasha asked, crossing her arms as Maria sat directly across from her.

Maria shook her head.

"No, but you aren't a monster, Nat. You were only following orders, like soldiers, and they kill the occasional civilian, i'll admit that, and just look at them."

Natasha scoffed.

"Yeah, and they came back all fucked up and put into mental hospitals or arrested for murdering other Americans."

Maria sighed.

"Alright, yes, you're fucked up...but in the good way."

"I don't even get what Clint sees in me." She said, putting her head in her hands.

"You're kidding me, right? Nat, Clint loves you more than life it's self, for who you are. Know who that is? A kick ass woman who doesn't listen to anyone's bullshit. You're beautiful, Lili adores you more than anyone else, and everyone knows you love her and would never, not in a million years, hurt her intentionally. You also have feelings, despite what Stark and every other person believes."

"Yeah, i'm great with kids. I don't get how Lili sees me as her Mom."

Maria sighed once more, brushing her dark hair out of her face.

_She's also going to kill me later but..._

"Hey, Tasha? Look up at me for a second."

Natasha did as Maria said, half expecting Maria to hug her, which she did, but what she didn't expect was for the younger Agent to slap her across the face, causing her head to bounce back against the wall as the woman grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her violently a few times.

"Are you fucking serious? Nat, Lili sees us as her family because she feels safe with us, especially you and Clint. She's going to grow up knowing that you aren't a danger to her, and that all you do is hurt the bad people who should have never been born. Who are the better people to watch her and raise her than a couple master assassins, a Demi-God, a man with anger management issues, a billionaire, a super soldier, an astrophysicist, a CEO, and another SHIELD Agent? Although, you are also going to have your work cut out keeping the boys away from her, but we won't worry about that for another decade or so...and I swear to God, if another negative word comes out of your mouth, I will put my knife through your eye socket." Maria threatened, finally releasing her, cringing and waiting for Natasha's blow, but sighed in relief when it didn't come, "I've also been abused before. My whole life, from the day I was born. I've been molested by my fathers drug addicted friends, beaten, told to go kill my self, oh, and bullied at school as well. But I don't focus on my past so much anymore, once in awhile, yes, but I prefer to look at what's ahead, and try and fix my broken relationship with my father." She added.

Maria took of her jean jacket, holding out her arms and exposing her stomach so Natasha could see the angry, faded red scratches that riddled her wrist, forearm, and stomach.

"You cut? And yet Fury trusts you with weapons..."

Maria rolled your eyes.

"Yeah, you think Fury knows about any of this? All he knows is that I was abused, he doesn't need to know I attempted suicide repeatedly and used to cut myself. That's right, _used to, _the last time I cut was six months ago, the day that my father came back and I agreed to give him another chance. To be honest, sometimes I still do feel the need to cut or pull my own gun on my self because of my past, which is rare, but still happens. Whenever that happens, I just go and have a tantrum in the training room, and in severe cases, I throw and break things...which I should really stop doing seeing as it makes a huge mess that usually ends up with Pepper or Steve cleaning it up...and Bruce had to go to the panic room so he could hulk out without hurting anyone. Anyway, I want you to promise me, swear on Lili and Clint, that you won't resort to taking your anger and guilt out on yourself. You'll look at what's ahead, got it?"

Natasha sighed.

"Alright, i'll try that. Thanks Mar, but don't blame me if any of your belongings end up broken."

Maria gave a small smile.

"Don't worry, I could always guilt Stark into having whatever you break replaced. Especially since he always has to replace the toaster when Thor breaks it trying to make toast or a pop tart." She said, half joking half serious as they shared a laugh.

"Well, since you're such a good, helping friend to me, i'll help you. The day before we all go camping or Discovery Cove, wherever the hell we go first, wear something nice and go meet Steve in the conference room, wear something nice."

Maria raised an eye brow at the assassin.

"Why?"

The assassin pursed her lips and put a hand on Maria's shoulder, a mischievous glint in her green eyes.

"I won't say anything more other than the fact Steve has a surprise for your one year anniversary."

The other Agent gave her a curious glance as they started to crawl their way out of the air vents.

_What the hell are they up to?_

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review :)**


	10. Affirmations-Part 1

**A/N: Hey guys! So, here's the next chapter, i'd like to thank Sello for the idea for this chapter. Enjoy!**

The group sat in a circle half an hour later, why they were in a circle, no one but Brook knew.

"So...why are we on the floor?" Steve asked, scratching the back of his head in confusement.

"Well, since all you guys seem to do is insult one another, y'all are going to give an affirmation, or a compliment, about each and every person here. Understand? Good. Who wants to start?" Brook asked, looking at everyone as they groaned.

"Bruce?"

Bruce sighed and looked at everyone with kind eyes.

"Alright, uh...Maria and Natasha, I admire your dedication to SHIELD and your stubborn attitude..." He started, earning a slight nod from both women.

"Steve, you're focused and I don't know where we'd be without you. Tony, you're great at building things, I still ask my self how you built that suit in a cave in Afghanistan, you are and always will be my science brother. Clint, all I can say is...thank you for tranquilizing me when I get angry and let the "Other Guy" out, oh, Thor? You're almost as strong as I am, and you're the only one actually able to stand up to me." He finished, earning a pat on the back from Tony and Clint, a handshake from Steve, and a bone crushing hug from Thor.

"Thank you, friend Bruce, for such kind words!" Thor exclaimed, hugging him once more.

"Welcome...how about you let me go before someone gets hurt?" Bruce said, allowing for Thor to take the warning and release him.

"I guess i'll go next..." Clint said awkwardly, looking around until he found Brook, who sat in a new chair by the window.

"Go ahead, Clint." Brook said with a small smile.

"Alright, Natasha and Maria? I absolutely love how you two can kick ass and make other women feel ashamed of themselves. Steve, you keep the team together even through the toughest times. Tony...you're a good friend...no matter how annoying you get, you're like a brother to me and basically everyone here.. Oh and Bruce? Thanks for helping Tony make my tranquilizer arrows...and making sure Tony didn't blow up the lab while doing it. Thor? You give awesome hugs...even though you did nearly break my back while doing so." Clint said, pulling a resisting Natasha to sit in his lap, although she gave in and crossed her arms, spreading her feet out in front of her.

"Thank you, Clint...Natasha, would you like to go next?"

Natasha laughed harshly.

"I'd rather go to South Africa and feed my self to the Sharks."

Tony scoffed.

"Forget South Africa! Go to Queensland, a woman was mauled by three Bull Sharks in 2008."

"Yes, true. But South Africa has the biggest Sharks...well, seeing as a boy was also attacked by two of them a few years ago...He lived, but...South Africa is very tempting right now."

"How do you survive being attacked by two twenty foot long Sharks?" Clint asked, raising an eye brow as Natasha sat up.

Before she could respond, Tony cut in.

"Oh, I was watching that re run from Shark Week with Lili, one had the boys hand in his mouth, and the other moved for his head and shoulders, but veered away and hit the other Shark...and people say that my only talent is Science? Bitch please!"

Brook sighed, brushing a strand of black hair out of her face, she had no more patience for any of this.

"Look, i'm not in the mood, Natasha. ." She said through clenched teeth.

Natasha sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Fine. Let's see...Clint, you're the best partner I have, and thanks for being there for me. Maria, you're a great friend, thanks for slapping me back in that air vent. Steve, you're like a brother to me and you're a great person for Maria. Tony? Uhm...Ah fuck it! Thanks for putting up with me and you're like the very annoying brother I never had, you provided not only a home for me, but also a family. Bruce, you're a great Doctor and I never got to thank you for helping us locate the tesseract last year. Thor? You have a big mouth, but that's what I like about you." She explained, her green eyes looking at Brook as if to say, _'are you happy now?' _

"You're welcome." Bruce said, breaking the awkward silence.

The assassin only nodded in response.

"Alright then, Tony?"

Tony sighed and took a sip from the silver flask, only for Bruce to take it and dump the rest of the contents in a potted plant behind him.

"Fine. Natasha and Maria? You guys are sexy as hell, but you scare the crap out of me. Oh and Maria? Thank you for not breaking anything important during your last suicidal tantrum. Thor, you're a Demi-God, but you're a brother to me, a very loud brother, but still...your other brother how ever, not so much. Bruce? I love how you go all commando and turn into a green rage monster, Steve, you're old enough to be my father, but you still look pretty good...all I can say is, I hope I look that good when i'm ninety. Clint? You're bad ass with a bow and arrow...how do you make them explode?" Tony asked.

Clint shrugged.

"Beats me. Ask my mentor, Trick Shot...oh wait, he's probably dead, my brother probably killed him."

"Oh, Stark? The next so called, _'suicidal tantrum' _I have, I will be sure that it's something important I break just to spite you." Maria sneered, crossing her arms as Tony backed away, his back resting against the side of the couch.

Brook nodded, turning her gaze back to Maria, who was still glaring at Tony...if looks could kill, Tony would be dead a thousand times...or more.

"Maria? How about you go next, since you seem to have a lot to say."

Maria's gray eyes widened and she turned to face Natasha, who was seated on Clint's lap, located on her left.

"So, Nat, about that trip to South Africa..."

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review :) if any of y'all have ideas for future chapters, i'm all ears :3**


	11. Affirmations-Part 2

**A/N: Hey guys! Here's the next chapter! Enjoy! If you have any ideas, please tell me, who knows? I might just use them! Sorry if this chapters a little short.**

After more than twenty minutes, Maria was finally persuaded by the group, mainly Steve, to say nice things about everyone.

"Alright, fine. Tony? You're smart and haven't blown up the lab in over a month, a new personal record. Natasha and Clint? You guys are great partners and kick ass, SHIELD is lucky to have you. Thor? You haven't broken anything with your hammer...except my lamp...but that's something I can replace. Steve? You're possibly the only one with enough patience to put up with my moods and in all honesty? I'd probably be dead if you didn't come along. Bruce, you're very understanding when it comes to my melt downs, besides Steve anyway, and you don't tell Fury when they happen." Maria explained, lying down with her arms crossed over her stomach, closing her eyes.

"Well, Doctor-Patient confidentiality..." Bruce said, trailing off as Brook cleared her throat thoughtfully.

"Alrighty then. Steve? Would you like to go next?"

Steve nodded.

"Yes ma'am. Maria and Natasha? You two are possibly the most stubborn women in this whole group, but can hold your own in a fight. Natasha, you're also like a sister to me and despite what most people believe, you have feelings, especially when it comes to the children and Clint. Tony? You gave me a home and along with the others, helped me get used to this new century i'm in. Thor? Thanks for not striking me with lightning and actually putting your hammer down when told to. Clint, you've been a great friend to me, and I appreciate it. Bruce, keep doing what you do because you're the best person for the job."

Brook nodded thoughtfully, giving a small smile.

"Thank you, Captain. Who's left? Thor?" Brook asked, looking at the Demi-God, who nodded.

"Aye, lady Brook. Lady Maria and Lady Natasha? You are very strong women and would be worthy Asgardian warriors. Very beautiful as well, the other men would fall head over heels for you two ladies. Friend Stark? Thank you for letting Jane move in back when my brother tried to take over once more, it is most appreciated. Friend Steve? You are most kind and braver than most. Friend Clint? You are a fine archer, better than most i've seen, I have put a good word for you to my parents. Friend Bruce? You are very strong and a fine Doctor." Thor explained, sharing a kind look with everyone, his blue eyes landing on Brook as she cleared her throat and began speaking.

"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" Brook asked, sharing a brief look with Bruce before turning back to the others.

"Not bad? I had to compliment people." Tony complained, throwing up his hands in frustration and waving a hand at the others.

Maria and Natasha nodded in agreement.

"I believe it was a very fine activity. What do you plan on having us do next, lady Brook?"

Brook smirked at the group and reached into her bag, pulling out poster board and markers.

"Drawing"

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review :)**


	12. Drawing

**A/N: Hey guys! Here's the next chapter, sorry if it's not as funny or interesting as the other chapters! Once again, i'd like to thank JoMiSm for helping me with this chapter and giving me the idea for ink splatters! Enjoy!**

Upon hearing this, everyone groaned simultaneously, except Steve, who seemed more tired than irritated or annoyed.

"Drawing? What are we? Four?" Maria asked, glaring at Brook.

"If I knew we were going to be drawing i'd have brought Lili." Natasha agreed, rubbing her temples trying to ease the head ache that was beginning to form.

"Well, before we do actually drawing, I am going to show you some ink splatter portraits I did, and you are going to tell me what you see, understand?" Brook asked, flipping her black hair over her shoulder.

Everyone groaned once again as she took out the first portrait, and true to her words, there was black ink splattered on the paper, that no one knew what it was supposed to look like.

"Well, if you squint it kind of looks like a cookie..." Tony stated, trailing off as everyone else face palmed.

"A cookie? Are you stupid Stark?" Natasha asked, turning to look at the billionaire questioningly, eye brows raised.

"Well, what do you see, Spidey?"

Natasha sighed, crossing her arms.

"I'm not participating in this stupid game."

"Well, friends, I see Mjolnir." Thor stated.

"You see your hammer? To me it kind of looks like a cloud covering the sun..." Steve said, trailing off as Maria face palmed once more.

"This is stupid." She stated, sighing in exasperation.

Brook sighed.

"Right...moving on..." She said, pulling out another portrait.

"I'm seeing a dog..." Clint said.

"Well, I see a group of people being tortured." Natasha said sarcastically, crossing her arms as Brook scowled and pulled out another ink portrait.

"A knife." Natasha stated nonchalantly, looking at the clock, praying that this torture would soon end.

"You see a knife?" Clint asked, a humorous glint in his light blue eyes.

"You see a knife? Seriously, Nat? I kind of see a samurai sword...those two markings in the middle are the blade, and the two markings that go toward the top are the handle." Maria said.

"I thought you two weren't participating?" Steve asked the two women, who shrugged.

"Figured we'd humor you and share our opinions." The assassin stated.

Maria nodded in agreement.

"Well, this is definitely progress. How do you feel?" Brook asked them, a smile playing at her lips.

"Stupid." They said coldly, crossing their arms and glaring at the older woman.

Brook sighed in frustration, she only had so much patience.

"Alright then. Everyone take a poster board and some markers. What you're gonna do is draw something that describes who you are as a person." She explained, putting a pile of poster board and crayola markers on the floor in front of them.

"Did I mention how stupid this is?"

"Yes Nat. Three times." Clint said, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"It's not stupid, it's child-ish...exhibit A." Maria added, nodding her head at Tony and Thor who were drawing on their poster vigorously.

"Come on guys, just do it. If you don't, you'll never get out of here." Steve said, also beginning to lightly sketch on the paper.

The two assassins and Maria rolled their eyes.

"As much as I hate to admit it, Caps right." Clint said.

"I still don't get how this is going to help." Maria stated, throwing up her arms in surrender as she grabbed the poster board and a pack of markers.

"It's going to help us get a better look of your personality." The therapist said as the two women reluctantly began to draw.

After ten minutes, Brook told the group to stop drawing.

"Alright. Steve? Would you like to go first?"

Steve nodded and held up his drawing, which was a picture of a soldier holding a shield and in the upper right hand corner was the American flag.

"So, what does this tell us about you?" She asked, taking out her note pad.

"That I like my freedom and i'm proud to be an American." Steve stated, giving a small smile.

"That's great to know. You seem to have improved in these past couple of days." She said, and turned to Thor.

"Thor?"

Thor held up his portrait, a drawing of him perched on top of the empire state building holding up his hammer, lightning coming down from the sky.

"So...you like lightning?"

Thor nodded.

"Aye, they do not call me the God of Thunder for nothing." He stated.

Brook put her head in her hands and sighed before once more looking up.

"Alright then...Clint?"

Clint sighed and held up his poster. He had drawn a hawk and a nest hidden in the thick leaves of a oak tree.

"So, what does this picture represent?" She asked, smoothing out her shirt and straightening up in her chair.

"That i'm elusive and like to hide?" He said, making it sound more like a question.

"Natasha? Maria?"

Both women groaned and showed their drawings.

On Natasha's, a line was drawn down the middle, on one side, a knife dripping with blood, and on the other side, a picture of her, Clint, and Lili at the park...well, that's what everyone assumed anyway.

"So...what does this symbolize about you?" Brook asked, her voice cracking, not in the least bit comfortable.

"That i'm a murderer but also a caring person, unlike what most people believe." She muttered, glaring at Tony.

"You aren't a murderer...okay, yes, but do we really kill innocent people?"

"I did in the Red Room." She grumbled, briefly looking out the window.

"Don't do that to your self, Nat." He said warningly as Maria showed her drawing.

Maria's also had a line drawn down the middle, one side a drawing of a little girl huddled in a corner, another man standing over her threateningly. On the other side, a young woman standing beside a man that looked a lot like Fury in front of a group of people.

"Is that supposed to be us?" Tony asked in awe.

"Yes. On the left side is how I was before; a scared little girl with no way out. On the right is how I am now; a fully grown woman who doesn't listen to anyones crap and a force to be reckoned with."

"So, you're strong and resilient, is that what you mean?"

Maria nodded.

"Yes."

Tony coughed awkwardly and held up his drawing. In the top left corner was a dollar sign, while in the very center was him, the team, and Pepper, who held a very poorly drawn baby, and to the left of that, an arc reactor.

"So, in my drawing, I drew a dollar sign which resembles my billionaire status, then in the very middle is what's important to me. The team and Pepper along with our son. Off to the right is my arc reactor which resembles who I am. Iron Man."

Clint scoffed.

"More like Iron Ass." He muttered, causing everyone to laugh and a high five from Steve.

"So above all, you care about them? Your family in a sense?" She asked, furiously writing down notes.

Tony nodded.

"Alright then, that's very well thought out. Bruce?" She asked, sighing as she looked at the Doctor, who cautiously held up his poster; a drawing of the Hulk beating Loki to a pulp that made everyone laugh.

Brook pursed her lips in annoyance.

"Obviously this shows your temperament?"

Bruce nodded.

"So, let's try the ink spots again..."

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review :)**


	13. Fights

**A/N: Hey guys! I apologize for any grammatical errors in the next few chapters! This is due to the fact my glasses broke and well...I don't have an eye appointment until November...anyway enjoy!**

After a few more failed attempts at drawing, the group was back to sitting in a circle.

"Alright, this group obviously has issues." Brook said, trailing off as Natasha scoffed.

"What was your first clue?" She asked sarcastically, rolling her eyesat the woman.

"Well, at least we don't have issues like Stark does..." Clint said, trailing off and glaring at the billionaire.

"I don't have...okay, maybe daddy issues...but i'm going to be a better father to my son than mine was! At least i'm not like Capsicle who has 21st century issues."

"Leave Steve out of this! Tony, you let Lili, a little girl, watch _The Hunger Games!" _Maria exclaimed, crossing her arms, causing Natasha to glare at Tony...obviously she didn't know about that.

"You let Lili watch what?" She asked, her voice deadly calm as Tony moved closer to Bruce.

"In my defense, she wanted to watch it! She said, and I quote; _'the girl is so pretty! I want to look like her when i'm older...and the boy is a total babe!' _yeah, I think it's time to give her that whole talk about boys...it was a total _Full House _moment!" He exclaimed, putting his hands up defensively.

"Well, thanks to you, she refuses to be left with any other children! Maria and I tried to drop her off at day care last month when Natasha and Clint were on a mission. She didn't want to leave us because she thought the other kids were going to kill her!" Steve added, causing Natasha to get up and advance on the billionaire, who also got up and backed away.

"What makes you think she was ready for that? She's four_" She started, but Tony cut her off.

"Four and three quarters, she's turning five in December and starts pre-school in September." He explained, backing away as everyone inwardly face palmed at his comment.

The assassin scowled at him, giving him a look that clearly said, _'shut up if you know what's good for you.' _

Brook sighed and stood up, blowing the whistle she had taken out of her bag minutes earlier.

"Where'd you get that whistle?" Bruce asked, raising an eye brow at the therapist.

"Not important. If Agent Romanoff and Mr. Stark don't sit back down in the next ten seconds, I will have my cousin come in and taze them. Now sit." She ordered, allowing for the two to sigh and reluctantly return to their seats.

"Is your cousin a Miss. Darcy Lewis?" Thor asked, inwardly cringing at the memory of when Jane's friend had tazed him.

Brook shook her head.

"No, not Darcy Lewis. But my cousin is involved in the next activity." She said, turning on her heel and leaving the room, only returning moments later with a young woman, roughly around Bruce's age.

Bruce's jaw nearly dropped at the sight of the woman, who gave him a warm smile in recognition.

"Betty"

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Feel free to offer up ideas for the next "activity" please review: :)**

**Oh, and if y'all don't mind, can you please comment which name you like better? Serafina or Zaria?**

**Please and thank you!**


	14. Team Bonding

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated, i've been on vacation in Canada and they have no cell reception where we were! Or internet connection. Stupid verizon iphone -_- anyway, enjoy!**

After ten minutes or so, the group was in one of the training rooms, wearing tight fitting vests and gloves.

"So...how does paintball play a role in this?" Natasha asked, pulling un comfortably at her black vest.

"Ask Betty. It was her idea." Brook said, smiling at her older cousin, who wore a similar green vest over her white blouse and black leggings.

"The point of paintball is to build a bond with your team. So that all of you can trust that while out in the field, your team mates won't shoot you, or beat you to a pulp, be it by accident or on purpose because they're pissed at you, and will have your back regardless. Understand?" She asked, looking at everyone with her bright green eyes.

"Yeah Stark!" Maria snapped, glaring at Tony, who sighed.

"Okay, seriously? We're still on that? I shot you with my suit once, and in my defense, it back fired and I didn't see you there!" He said defensively, giving her a pointed look.

"No, actually, you shot at Maria three times by "accident", you just missed the other two times." Steve said, putting air quotes around _accident._

"Yeah, I could barely move for over a week! I was sleeping on the couch basically, god forbid you had killed me_" She started, taking a threatening step towards him, only for Brook to clear her throat and interrupt their argument.

"Anyway, the rules are, if someone hits you anywhere except the head, you're out. Understand?" She asked.

Thor raised his hand.

"What is this paint of ball? We do not have it in Asgard." He asked, Steve looked equally confused.

"Well point break, and Capsicle, you have fake guns with little balls of paint, hence the term, 'Paintball' you shoot them at other people in games or at targets, because getting hit with them unless you're wearing the correct gear hurts. Especially if you get hit in the groin." Tony said, cringing at the last part.

"And you know that because...?" Bruce asked, raising an eye brow at the billionaire.

"Angry ex-girlfriend, it's a long story."

Brook sighed and cleared her throat.

"Any more questions?"

"Can I sit this one out? I don't want 'The Other Guy' to get involved." Bruce explained, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"Bruce, this is a good activity for you then. You just have to trust yourself not to get too angry." Betty explained.

"I'm always angry."

Betty sighed.

"Please? For me? I have faith in you! You'd never hurt any of us on purpose, neither would the other guy!" She begged, grabbing his hands in her own.

Bruce sighed.

"I guess..."

Brook smiled at her cousin giving a small nod.

"Alright, teams! Maria and Tony are team leaders.." She started, looking over at Coulson, who sat on the bench behind her, nodding in approval.

"Okay, on Maria's team are; Natasha, who will be the other team leader, Clint, and Steve. On Tony's team are; Bruce, who is the other leader, Betty, and Thor. Questions?" She asked, handing the green guns and orange balls of paint to Tony and Bruce's team, while Maria and Natasha's team got the black paint ball guns and red balls of paint.

"Uhm...why aren't you playing?" Betty asked, her green eyes boring into her cousins pitch black ones.

"I'd like to, but then the teams will be un even and that would be an unfair disadvantage to the other team." She explained, crossing her arms in front of her.

"I'll play too, that way the teams are even." Coulson said, coming up behind the therapist as he handed a vest to her. Brook sighed and put on the vest and gloves that came with it, joining Tony's team, while Coulson joined Maria's team.

Maria set her sights on Tony's team and smirked at them, making everyone cringe.

This was going to be fun.

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review, I really appreciate it :)**


	15. Strategy

**A/N: Here's the next chapter! I hope y'all like it! **

"Uhm...before we begin, are there any rules?" Tony asked nervously, eyeing Maria and the two assassins.

"Yes, thanks for reminding me." Brook said, causing Maria's team to glare at Tony, Brook, being who she is, ignored it and continued like she didn't see anything.

"No using any other powers or any other weapons besides the paintball guns. No fowl play, such as tackling other people, the only exception being your team mates, understand?"

Silence.

"Good. Now, all teams go to your side and devise a strategy and pick a team name." She said, disappearing behind a group of collumns with the rest of her team, while Maria's team disappeared behind a foam padded, rock wall.

"Alright, what's the plan?" Clint asked, rubbing his hands together mischievously.

"Guerilla warfare." Maria and Natasha said simultaneously.

"We sneak up on them when they least expect it."

"That's our specialty." Clint said, sharing a look with his fiancée.

"Perfect! Natasha and Clint, you two will be up in the raftors. Phil? You stay here and shoot anyone that get's close enough, or preferably, at the person on Tony's team that stays. Understand?"

Coulson nodded and gave Maria a small smile.

"Steve, you and Maria are going to stay behind the cylinders as cover, being as quiet as possible and shooting at the other team." Natasha said, looking at her friend, who nodded, smirking over the wall at Tony, who waved nervously at her. Maria was in her war mode and no one was about to question her...except Phil of course.

"How do you know all this stuff?" He asked, raising an eye brow at her.

"I may have played paintball with my brother as a child when our father and evil step-mother weren't around...and at birthday parties, which I snuck out to and Danny covered for me...and a little bit in the marine corps when we were off duty.." She said, trailing off as everyone gave her stunned looks.

Maria smirked.

"And you say I never have fun...alright, grab some ammo and take your places." She added.

"Wait, we need to pick a name!" Steve said.

"Alright, what did you have in mind?"

"The Soldiers?"

Maria crossed her arms and raised an eye brow at him.

"Really? That's the best you can come up with?"

Steve shrugged in response.

"How about _The Dauntless Soldiers?_ Dauntless means bravery, so the name is 'the brave soldiers' that way we incorporate Steve's suggestion in there too?" Natasha asked, earning a nod of approval from everyone else, even Maria.

"Alright, _The Dauntless Soldiers, _it is! Now clear out!"

_**Tony's Team**_

Meanwhile, Tony's team was still trying to come up with a name.

"I still say we should call ourselves, _The Billionaires."_ Tony said, leaning up against the cylinder.

"What's wrong with _Poison Ivy?_" Betty asked, crossing her arms.

"No one wants a name after a plant that gives you a really bad itchy rash that poisons you." Brook said, looking at the older woman scornfully.

"How about _The Nightcrawlers?"_ Bruce asked, getting tired of everyones bickering.

"Hm...alright, but I still think 'The Billionaires' is better...'The Nightcrawlers' it is!"

"So, what's the plan?" Brook asked, peeking over the cylinder at the other team.

"Basically...Attack them and take people hostage without breaking the rules if you get the chance. Bruce, you stay here and shoot at the person that stays at Maria's base." He explained, dragging a hand through his dark hair.

"Alright then...I guess i'll be hiding?" Betty asked in a small voice.

Tony nodded.

"Okay then...Attack!" He exclaimed, passing out paintballs to everyone as they set out to get into position.

The game has just begun.

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review I really appreciate it :) thanks to everyone that has reviewed, favorited, and followed this story!**


	16. Paintball

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in a few days! I've been busy and school just started up again, so that's been a little...eh i've got no words for it. Enjoy!**

Natasha and Clint wasted no time in making themselves comfortable up in the raftors, their 'ammo' in a small plastic container between them. Below them, Maria and Steve sat in position behind a pair of columns about fifteen feet apart from each other, while Coulson kneeled behind the foam barrier, watching as Tony's team looked confused as to the whereabouts of Maria's team.

"Alright guys, come out, on't be afraid of us." Tony said, looking right at Maria and Steve, who were practically invisible to them. The billionaire looked at the barrier and ducked just in time as Coulson shot Brook in the chest, knocking her to the ground.

The therapist sat up and looked at the orange paint that was right where her heart would be and sighed, getting up and moving over to the benches where she sat cross-legged and her arms crossed in front of her, watching intently.

"Yeah...it's always embarrassing being the first one out..." Tony said, aiming his gun at Coulson, who ducked and ninja rolled back behind the barrier, causing Tony's jaw to drop.

_I'll be God damned...he does have a few tricks up his sleeve..._

Maria seized this opportunity to signal to Clint and Natasha with an inconspicuous wave of her hand that it was time to make their move.

The next thing Tony's team knew, red paint balls were being shot at them as they made for cover. Betty tripped and fell to the ground, making eye contact with Bruce and the rest of the team.

"Go on...without me...it's too late...save yourselves!" She choked, coughing as she dropped her head and rolling onto her back, faking a dramatic death with her tongue hanging out, before she got up and went to sit beside her cousin.

"Where the hell are the shots coming from?" Bruce asked.

Tony shrugged and looked up, spotting the assassins, who were too busy looking at the columns, smirking, to notice them. He followed their gaze and saw Maria and Steve crouched down, laughing their asses off.

"Did you see their faces, Mar?" Steve asked between fits of laughter as he clutched the foam column for support.

"Yeah, and Betty's death scene? Did you see her face?" Maria added, clutching her side that was beginning to hurt from laughing so much.

Steve nodded, his eyes widening when he saw Bruce approaching, aiming right for Maria.

"Maria, look out!" He shouted, dropping his gun and lunging at her, tackling her to the ground as they rolled out of Bruce's line of fire to the far wall.

The Agent gasped as she hit her head on the far wall as Bruce shot Steve, not once, not twice, but three times in the back, while Natasha shot at Bruce five times, hitting him each time in the chest, red paint smeared all over him, his eyes briefly flashed green before returning to their original color.

Surprisingly, the other man didn't hulk out, substituting 'The Other Guy' for punching a hole in the wall.

"Maria...win for me." Steve choked dramatically, grabbing his girlfriends hand.

"Steve? Steven look at me! I didn't give you permission to die!" Maria begged, pretending to sob hysterically with REAL TEARS, as Clint and Natasha jumped down from their spot above, joining their team leader, sharing a solemn look.

"He took a bullet for me..." She said quietly, at first shaking the soldiers shoulder, then moving to repeatedly hit him in the chest.

Hard.

"Fuck!" She shouted, causing Clint to grab her around her shoulders, urging her to move on.

"There's nothing you can do for him now. He was a fine fighter, and he will be avenged." Clint said, watching as Steve's 'ghost' walked towards the bench.

The archers eyes widened and became grave once more as he pushed Maria and Natasha out of the way, back towards the dark blue, foam columns, reaching for his gun too late as he kneeled down in pain, having been shot in the groin by Thor.

"I am sorry, friend Clint, but it had to be done." Thor said gravely, his expression quickly turning to pain as a paint ball hit him right in the shoulder blade, by none other than Natasha, who looked pissed.

"WHO DARES SHOOT THE FUTURE KING OF ASGARD!?" Thor boomed, narrowing his eyes at the women as his shoulders drooped painfully, lifting Clint over his shoulder and carrying him over to everyone else, where he threw Clint, none too gentle, down on his stomach, smirking as the other assassin yelped in pain.

"Now all we have to do is get Stark...I have an idea." Maria said, helping her friend up as she signaled over to the other Agent, telling him the plan has changed.

Tony stood in the middle of the room, aiming his paintball gun in the direction of any little sound, smirking as Natasha slowly approached him.

"Come to surrender, Spidey?"

Natasha shook her head.

"No, I came to compliment you. You're a fine fighter, Stark." She said, circling him as he eyed her cautiously, causing his back to turn towards the barrier where Coulson was lying in wait for the signal.

"But sadly, you fall for every little trick...Время за справедливость!" She yelled in Russian, ducking as Maria came down from the raftors, hanging by her feet, as she shot vigoriously at Tony, who aimed his gun a minute too late as Natasha and Coulson joined in.

"No fair! Are they allowed to do that?" Tony asked, turning to Brook.

"What? I didn't say you couldn't trick the other team, so yes, they're allowed." She answered, smirking at him.

"All's fair in love and war." Maria said as Tony pouted and sulked away, clearly ashamed to have been beaten by two girls...and Coulson.

The Dauntless Soldiers one the battle, only losing two valued members.

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review :)**


	17. Halfway There

**A/N: hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in awhile, school is killer! I would like to take this moment to say, R.I.P to all those that died on this tragic day and continue to do so for freedom. Civilians, Fire Fighters, Soldiers, Cops, everyone! Y'all will forever be in our hearts 3**

The next day, the group sat back on the leather clad sofa, everyone had some injuries to account for. Maria held an ice pack to her face, having gotten a mild concussion when Steve had tackled her to the ground, and Clint would have a limp for awhile after being hit in the groin, and no one would let him live that one down. Bruce nursed his injured hand, having hurt it when he punched that wall when he had been hit with the paintball. At this point, the only ones that seemed okay were Betty, Brook, Thor, and Natasha.

"So, what did the paintball game teach us?" Brook asked, exchanging a quick look with each of them.

"That we're very violent?" Maria asked, shooting a look at Steve.

"Hey, I took a bullet for you!"

"Yes, and while i'm very grateful, it was a paintball, and would not have caused serious damage. We are not in battle, so tackling me and giving me a concussion was not necessary."

"Wait...Steve might be on to something...the fact that your team mates are willing to take a 'bullet' for you says a lot." Brook said, scribbling down in her note pad,

"And Bruce didn't even hulk out!" Tony exclaimed, patting the older man on the back.

"Yes, that's definitely great progress. We're half way there..." She said, trailing off as Tony started to sing _Halfway there, _by Big Time Rush.

"Oh just shut up!" They all said simultaneously, covering the billionaires mouth so he couldn't utter another song.

"Sing again and Tasha, Clint, and I will lock you in a small room and make you listen to 'it's a small world' for twenty-four hours straight. Understand?" Maria asked, her gray eyes boring into his brown ones as he nodded, allowing for her to take her hand off of his mouth.

"Anyway...have you guys ever tried any team bonding on any other occasion than what you just did?"

"What is this 'team of bonding' you speak of?" Thor asked, raising an eye brow at the woman.

"Like...have you ever gone to the movies together, or had a movie night or game night?"

"We went out to shwarma after the invasion last year. We tried to have a movie night, but Pepper chose _Titanic..._then the last game night we did, we tried to kill each other..." Steve answered.

Brook sighed.

"Alright, anything else?"

"We went to the aquarium about six months back." Bruce added.

"Okay then, y'all are making great progress! But, I want you guys to work on having a family or 'team bonding' night of sorts. It doesn't have to be often. Once a week at the most." She explained, jotting down a list of things to do, handing it to Natasha, who read it out loud.

"_Family game night_

_Family movie night_

_Tell stories_

_Train together_

_Try not to kill each other for more than five minutes_

_Go out on the town_

_Most importantly, do not harm, maim, or kill your team mates."_

"Well, those are negotiable." Maria said, crossing her arms and glaring at Tony.

"Yeah, we aren't making any promises." Clint added, causing the therapist to sigh once more, rubbing her forehead.

"Alright, everyone is done for today. Except Maria and Natasha, i'd like to speak with the two of you."

**A/N: Ooh...what does Brook have to speak with them about? Let me know what you think! Please review :)**


	18. Urgency

**A/N: hey guys, so here's this chapter, i'm starting to run outta ideas, so this story will probably end soon, sadly. Enjoy!**

For ten minutes the three of them sat in silence, each daring the other to make the first move.

"So, there are some things you guys are keeping from me. Not giving full details." She said, folding her hands in her lap.

"Like what? Maria's house burning down?" Natasha asked, half joking half serious. Brook's eyebrows were peaked in interest at the mention of the fire.

"Fire? What fire?" She asked, Maria glaring at Natasha, giving the other woman her, _'you've done it now' _look, before turning back to the therapist.

"My house burned down and it wasn't your typical, left the stove on, or faulty electrical wires incident."

"What do you mean?"

"To put it simply, someone has a bounty on Maria's head." Natasha said nonchalantly.

_Now we're getting somewhere..._

"Maria, do you think it was one of your fathers friends? The ones that sexually abused you and wanted to get revenge for getting them arrested or in trouble with the police?" She asked, making Maria shift uncomfortably in her seat.

"No, we have reason to believe it was one of my colleagues from the Red Room, EJ." Natasha said coldly.

Brook ignored her and sighed.

"To what extent was the abuse? Did your father's friends also physically abuse you? Or was it purely sexual?"

Maria hesitated.

"You won't feel better until you get this off your chest." She added.

Maria sighed.

"His friends would touch me inappropriately, grope me, kiss me, make me sit on their laps and kiss my neck. I tried to get them to stop, but they were too strong and would threaten me and yes, they would punch and kick me too. They molested me, even tried to rape me, but when I resisted, they tried to strangle me, but the neighbors heard me screaming for help and called the police. However, the case was dropped due to supposed lack of evidence and when police asked if we were, in fact, "wrestling" like my fathers friends said, I saw in their eyes that they'd kill me or do worse if I told, so I said 'yes, we were wrestling' I regret that to this day, and now they're still out there. They did get arrested on drug charges awhile back."

"The abuse was not your fault, always remember that. You have people that love you and support you, and will to the day they die." Brook said, giving a small smile before turning to Natasha.

"All I will say about the Red Room is that the abuse was cruel, I was forced into marriage, my husband dying when I was eighteen. I left when I was twenty-three." She said coldly, glaring at the raven haired woman before she and Maria got up, leaving in a huff.

Brook left the "office" shortly after to head for her temporary SHIELD headquarters that she shared with Betty, who was spending the night at the tower, so she got the room to herself, and fell into a deep sleep.

Brook awoke at around 10:45 PM to someone urgently knocking on the hard wood door. It had actually taken her a few moments to register that she wasn't dreaming, and quickly put on her red silk bathrobe over her black t-shirt and pink striped pajama shorts.

The woman opened the door to find Betty standing there, her eyes red, obviously from crying earlier.

_Did she and Bruce get into a fight? _She thought, taking in the woman's unkempt, dark hair and tired green eyes.

"Betty, what is it? Did you and Bruce get into a fight?" She asked, looking at her cousin with tired black eyes.

Betty shook her head.

"Maria...she's...she's in the hospital."

**A/N: *Gasp* what happened to Maria? Let me know what y'all think! Please review :)**


	19. Sick

**A/N: Here's the next chapter! Feel free to make guesses as to what may happen next chapter! Enjoy!**

Brook and Betty met the rest of the group at a large window where they could see into Maria's hospital room as she struggled to answer the Doctors questions.

"So, what happened?" She asked, looking directly at Steve, who's hands had blood on them, probably from what ever had happened to the younger woman.

"Do you want the short version or the long version?" He asked, his voice cracking as he looked up at her, his bright blue eyes rimmed red.

"Both"

"Short version: She attempted suicide. The long version though..."

_****Flashback****_

_** Steve stood at the bedroom door, watching uneasily as Maria got dressed.**_

"_**Where are you going?" He asked, taking in her dark blue skinny jeans and her black blouse.**_

"_**A friend from highschool is in town and she wants to meet up before she leaves." She answered, putting her hair into a tight bun.**_

"_**I'll be back at 9:30, alright?" She asked, giving him a small peck on the lips before leaving.**_

_**Steve stayed up and waited anxiously in the main lounge and waited anxiously for Maria to return home.**_

_**9:30 eventually came and went, and then 10:00, making Steve grow increasingly concerned as to where she could be.**_

_**By the time 11:00 came around, JARVIS woke him up after he had dosed off a half an hour before.**_

"_**Mr. Rogers, Agent Hill has returned and needs your assistance getting in."**_

Maybe she forgot her key when she left..._**He thought, getting up and descending down to the first floor.**_

_**When he opened the large double doors, Maria was standing there, her smoky gray eyes dilated, clutching her stomach.**_

"_**Mar, babe? Are you okay?" He asked.**_

_**Maria didn't respond as she hunched over and retched all over the floor.**_

"_**Really? She came home drunk again?" Tony asked, coming into the front foyer with a bucket once the AI had informed him of what was going on.**_

"_**No..." Maria groaned, before grabbing the bucket and throwing up once more. This time, not only was it blood that she was throwing up, but accompanying it was a white, chalky substance, partially digested.**_

"_**Let's get her to the main lounge. I'll wake the others and have JARVIS send Bruce up." Tony explained as Steve took the woman and brought her to the main lounge, via the elevator, and gently sitting her down on the couch as she groaned and threw up again.**_

_**Steve peered into the bucket, his eyes growing wide when he now knew what it was that she had taken.**_

_**Pills.**_

_**A bunch of them un digested.**_

"_**Maria, darlin', how many pills did you take?" He asked as she gagged and threw up more pills, only able to groan in response as Bruce walked in with the others hot on his heels.**_

"_**What's wrong?" Bruce asked, kneeling down in front of Maria, who rested her head on Steve's shoulder, seemingly going in and out of consciousness.**_

_**Wordlessly, Steve handed the bucket to Bruce and Betty, who's eyes widened in shock.**_

"_**How many pills did she take?" **_

"_**I don't know. A shit load of them." He said, shifting as Maria made another inaudible sound.**_

"_**Well, there are a lot here. Between thirty and fifty? Do you know what it is?" Clint asked.**_

"_**No, but we need to get her to the hospital."**_

"_**I'll go call an ambulance." Pepper answered, disappearing into the kitchen with her cellphone.**_

_****End Flashback****_

"Do you know why she overdosed?"

"No, we don't." Natasha said, causing Brook to turn to her, taking note of how Lili and Jace weren't with them.

"The children are with Pepper. She's staying with them and we'll call her when he hear anything. Danny, John, and Anna, dropped Ryder off with her. They went to get some coffee, so they should be back soon." Natasha said, seeing the woman's confused expression at the absence of all the children.

"Aye. This is not a suitable environment for such small children, nor the situation." Thor agreed as Jane wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Maria is a fighter. She's going to pull through." She added, watching as John, Danny, and Anna came back with the coffee, handing each of them a cup.

"Any news?" John asked, showing genuine concern for his only daughter as his son and Anna took a seat in the plastic blue chairs across from the window, still able to see into the room.

"No. Nothing. And I didn't see Maria bring any pills with her either." Steve explained as the Doctor, Doctor Benson, came out of the room.

"How's Maria?" Danny asked, standing up with his wife as they both gazed into the room at his sister, who seemed much calmer, and seemed to be asleep.

"Well, she's going to live if that's what you're asking. We did have to pump her stomach to get the remainder of the pills out of her system. She's lucky she's even alive. Taking that much pills should have killed her."

"Do you know what she took?" Anna asked, crossing her arms in front of her as the Doctor sighed.

"Paracetamol, or as most of you know it as, acetaminophen, it's a pain reliever and could have easily caused more damage to her internal organs. She started to have a breakdown as we tested her, so we gave her a sedative. We'll question her when she wakes up."

"What will you do after?" Tony asked, coming to stand beside Steve.

Doctor Benson sighed.

"Usually in cases of suicide attempts we have to send them to a psych ward, but as of now, until we question her, we won't know if she's a danger to herself or others, or will try it again."

"We are _NOT_ sending her to a psych ward! That will only make her feel worse." The soldier growled, shocking the group as the Doctor nodded, whether it was in understanding or an agreement, they didn't know.

As they were led into the room, the only thought that crossed everyone's mind as they looked at an unconscious Maria was a thought no one dared speak out loud until the time came.

_Why did she do it?_

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Feel free to guess why Maria did it. HINT: Think back to what she and Brook talked about in the last chapter. Please review :)**


	20. Epilogue

**A/N: Hey y'all! So, here's the next chapter, hope you like it!**

Maria awoke disoriented, not knowing or remembering where she was, until she was suddenly conscious of an annoying beeping sound, indicating she was in a hospital.

"Steve?" She asked, sitting up and shielding her eyes from the bright light, trying desperately to remove the IV drip from her hand, when a hand stopped her.

"Don't."

Maria looked up, seeing the whole team, minus Fury, and her family watching her with worried gazes.

"Where's Director Fury?" She asked groggily, looking at Steve, and then to the others.

"He's going to come when he calms down. He said, and I quote; _'dammit! I want those motherfuckers found that sexually abused her as a child and giving her the fucking depression! I want the police involved! The FBI involved. Everyone!'" _Tony said, getting up and going to find the Doctor, who came in moments later, a clip board in hand.

"Hello, Ms. Hill, how do you feel?" Dr. Benson asked, giving the Agent a soft smile.

"Fine. Just tired though."

"That's the sedative we had to give you. It will ware off shortly." He said, sighing moments later.

"Ms. Hill, why did you try and overdose on paracetamol?"

Maria sighed and looked directly at her father, fury evident on her features.

"I saw _them_!" She spat, unshed tears glistening in her gray eyes.

"Who's them?" Dr. Benson asked, glancing between Maria and John.

"Old friends of mine. They sexually abused her as a child." John explained, sadness in his identical gray eyes.

"Did they..."

"Touch me? Rape me? They tried, but they didn't get very far...they made me take the pills."

_****Flashback****_

_**Throughout the night, Maria felt as though she was being watched, and the woman didn't like it at all.**_

"_**Selina? I need to go...Steve's probably getting worried. Have a safe trip home, tell Bruce I said hello." She said, getting up before her friend could say anything and left the bar.**_

_**As the woman walked down the deserted side walk towards her car, she briefly considered calling Steve, or even Stark to come and get her , but thought better of it, knowing they'd most likely be asleep.**_

_**The brunette stopped in her tracks as she saw three men who she only knew all too well coming towards her. Each man wore blue jeans and t-shirts that fit their torso's perfectly, and she considered walking the opposite direction, back to the bar and asking Selina for a ride, but knew she wouldn't make it in time.**_

"_**Well, look who we have here. Maria, it's been awhile." One of them said, looking to the other two, who nodded in agreement, their eyes going over the entire length of her body.**_

"_**Josh, Kyle, Aidan...yes it has been awhile, but I have to be somewhere, so please get out of my way." She ordered, voice trembling as she tried to walk past them, only for the men to grab her and throw her to the ground.**_

_**Josh grabbed her roughly by her dark hair, pulling it out of the tight bun she always wore it in, pulling her back to her feet as she tried to get up.**_

_**Her legs trembled beneath her, threatening to give way.**_

"_**We've got some unfinished business, sweetheart." He said, taking off his beige coat, his white t-shirt clashing with his grey hair.**_

"_**Well, it's going to have to wait. My boyfriend is probably looking for me." **_

"_**Boyfriend huh? Well, he's not going to want you when we're through." Kyle said, his tone giving way to impatience.**_

_**John held her in a headlock, covering her mouth with his hand as he kissed her neck, taking her black blouse off as Aidan undid her jeans, Kyle standing off to the side, injecting a syringe with a clear liquid.**_

_**Josh's hands trailed up and down her sides, easing Maria's jeans off of her.**_

_**Maria had enough.**_

_**Seeking the opportunity, she flung her head back, headbutting Josh in the face, breaking his nose and catching the other two off guard as she grabbed them and kicked Aidan's feet out from under him, watching as he hit his head on the concrete, knocking him out cold.**_

_**Kyle watched.**_

_**Shocked.**_

_**This was not the same little girl they remember from almost two decades earlier.**_

_**Josh wiped the blood from his face as it dripped onto his white t-shirt.**_

_**The man grabbed Maria from behind, closing his hands around her throat, fingernails digging into her delicate flesh.**_

"_**You bitch!" He snarled, squeezing her throat tighter until her face turned blue from lack of oxygen.**_

"_**Wait." Kyle said, reaching into his jacket pocket, tossing a bottle of paracetamol at her feet.**_

"_**Take the pills. All of them." Kyle snarled.**_

_**Maria hesitated, reprimanding herself for not having her own gun, until Josh took out his hand gun and held it against her temple.**_

"_**Do it."**_

_****End Flashback****_

The woman wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I took the pills with the intention to hide them under my tongue or spit them out, but whenever I would, they held my mouth closed and forced me to swallow them. And when I was taking too long, they took the bottle and shoved the rest of the pills into my mouth." She explained, putting her head in her hands, more tears spilling down her tan cheeks.

"Shh, it's alright, Mar." Steve assured her, rubbing her back soothingly.

"I'd have done the same thing. It's not your fault." Anna said.

"And it's not Dad's either. He didn't know what they were doing to you until recently."

"Yes. Maria never told me what they had done to her as a child until six months ago. But I should have known." John agreed, getting up and leaving the room, unable to look at his daughter as Danny and Anna followed to catch up with him, probably to assure him there was nothing he could have done.

_The past is the past and you can't change it..._Maria thought grimly as the Doctor cleared his throat.

"Ms. Hill? Would you like to make a report? They can be arrested for attempted rape and murder, and if the police from your home town are called in and still have evidence, they can be charged with sexual abuse and forced to register as sex offenders."

Maria looked up, about to refuse when she realized that she most likely had not been the first child or woman that they had done this to.

Maria sighed.

"Yes. I think i've waited for long enough."

Dr. Benson nodded and left the room to call the authorities, and the rest of the team left with him.

"I think we'll put a hold on our sessions until you're better and those assholes are caught." Brook said, hugging the woman as she left with Betty.

Steve got up to follow the others, only for his girlfriend to grab him.

"No. Stay with me."

Steve nodded, giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"Always"

Maria fell asleep, and for the first time she actually felt safe with Steve's arms wrapped around her as he played with her dark hair.

She was going to be alright.

**A/N: Yeah, I had to put those cheesy quotes in there! Well, I regret to inform you that this is the last chapter *sad face* but I will post more stories soon! I promise. Please review :)**


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